Diabetes News

A recent editorial published in Nutrients discussed the effects of phytochemicals on human health and metabolic diseases.

Metabolic diseases represent a global health issue due to their growing prevalence and mortality. Obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes are the most prevalent chronic diseases in nearly all countries.

These conditions are also responsible for disability in those affected. Metabolic diseases could result from physiological, genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.

As such, reducing the modifiable behavioral factors emerges as a cost-effective strategy, with a healthy diet and physical activity being invaluable tools.

Phytochemicals are abundant in vegetables, fruits, legumes, cocoa, olive oil, and beverages like wine, tea, and coffee. Because of their widespread distribution and health effects, phytochemicals represent a promising therapeutic and protective approach to metabolic disease prevention.

Consistently, there has been a growing interest in the health-promoting properties of phytochemicals in various chronic diseases. While metabolic diseases exhibit different pathogeneses, they still feature dysregulation of metabolic signaling pathways, gut microbiota alterations, and increased inflammation and oxidative stress.

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